Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

The Stardust Interstellar Dust Collector Crater Origins And Hypervelocity Cratering At Oblique Angles In Aluminum Foil, Harison Wiesman

Undergraduate Theses—Unrestricted

From 1999 to 2006 the NASA Stardust mission collected cometary particles from the Wild 2 comet and interstellar dust from the interstellar medium in two collectors made from aerogel tiles and aluminum foil. By studying their isotopic compositions, these particles can provide us with information about nucleosynthetic processes in stars. Both collector trays are being studied for traces of these particles, though a number of challenges have arisen in doing so. Identifying impact craters in the aluminum foil on the interstellar collector tray has been incredibly difficult. In addition to being only a few micrometers or less in diameter, many …